Photo credit: Channels TV
I’ve always said it that I believe without any equivocations that it’s only the Nigerian people who can organize themselves for good governance. In fact, when they do it, they can then afford to live good lives.
Today, I’m referring to the meeting between Mr Olusegun Obasanjo and Mr Abubakar Atiku. Obasanjo was president of Nigeria while Atiku was his assistant.
However, things were to fall apart later. It was even alleged that Obasanjo had to kneel for Atiku before he could secure a second term in office.
Apparently, it was Atiku that controlled the party structure. Without a party structure, a candidate won’t have a solid footing at the party convention. He will just be like a general without troops. It so happened that when Obasanjo got reelected, there was no love lost between the two men.
Meanwhile, for whatever reasons, Obasanjo had been instrumental in the SELECTION of all Nigerian presidents after his own tenure. I personally don’t believe Nigeria had been lucky with Obasanjo’s choices.
But then, he has been doing it because the generality of Nigerians do not realize that inherent in democracy are some duties and responsibilities.
For instance, who is that Nigerian who pays party membership fees again? Who are those Nigerians that think of candidates that are good enough for political offices again?
All of these are done for them by so-called godfathers, who ’empower’ them with ridiculous things. The people, in turn, stop thinking.
There was this acquaintance of mine who wanted to contest an election. As soon as the party members knew, they besieged him with their personal problems like paying their wards’ school fees, paying their pregnant wives’ hospital bills, paying the bills for their dead relations’ funerals, etc. When my pal did these for three months, he threw in the towel!
As long as we refuse to stick to our duties and responsibilities, these smart alecks will just be playing us like a football.
If Obasanjo who had once declared that if he supported Atiku’s presidential ambition, God wouldn’t forgive him could now do a volte-face, Nigerians should sit tight and know their redemption and the redemption of Nigeria will come from amongst ordinary Nigerians!
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